Hundreds of thousands more people in the UK are now
living in poverty than were four years ago, according to a new
report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The think tank said the progress to reduce poverty made
over the last 20 years had started to reverse.

Increasing rent prices and falling state support were
significant contributing factors to the rise in poverty, the
report said.

LONDON — Hundreds of thousands more UK children and pensioners
are living in poverty than were four years ago, according to a
new report by the Joseph Rowntree
Foundation (JFR).

The report found "continued increases in poverty" since 2012/13,
with an increase of almost 400,000 children and 300,000
pensioners living below the poverty line.

Although the last 20 years witnessed a dramatic reduction in the
number of children and pensioners living in poverty, the report
said that progress "is beginning to unravel," with both group now
experiencing a sustained rise in poverty.

JRF

The JRF called for a "national mission" to transform the
prospects of millions of people living in poverty in the UK. That
would include unfreezing benefits, increasing training for adult
workers, and working on a house-building programme to ensure
there is more affordable housing available.

"These worrying figures suggest that we are at a turning point in
our fight against poverty," said Campbell Robb, chief executive
of the JRF.

"Political choices, wage stagnation and economic uncertainty mean
that hundreds of thousands more people are now struggling to make
ends meet. This is a very real warning sign that our hard-fought
progress is in peril," he said.

According to the report, 14 million people live in poverty in the
UK — over one in five of the population. Four million of these
are children, and eight million are from families where at least
one person is in work. In 1994/95, it said , 58% of lone parents
lived in poverty, which fell to a low of 41% in 2010/11. But by
2015/16 this had risen again to 46%.

Since 2012, "very little progress has been made in reducing
poverty among working-age adults," the report said.

The JRF pointed to three factors that had previously contributed
to a fall in poverty which were now in question: state support
for those on low incomes is falling in real terms, rents are
increasing, and rising employment is no longer reducing poverty.

"Record employment is not leading to lower poverty, changes to
benefits and tax credits are reducing incomes and crippling costs
are squeezing budgets to breaking point," said Campbell. "The
Budget offered little to ease the strain and put low income
households' finances on a firmer footing," he said.

In England, London and the North East have the highest rates of
poverty. While all parts of England and Wales saw a drop in
poverty between 1993 and 2004, all regions have seen a
significant increase since then.